The Werewolf's Cry
by Ethereal-Midnight
Summary: Thrown aside and abused by society for most of his young life, Remus Lupin continues to bear the burden of being a werewolf. Thinking he'll be an outcast for the remainder of his existence, a certain Sirius Black enters his life and changes everything.
1. Not Long Forgotten

Faint murmurs arose from the congregation of furious and frightened onlookers in the distance, the words making their way towards the malicious creature. It sat there, in the snow, trembling with both the cold and with a poorly suppressed anger that showed clearly in its maddened eyes, besides the fallen bloodstained child whose flesh it had torn open moments ago. Torn open with razor-sharp talons that had erupted from the creature's very own fingers.

The ominous glow of the full moon bathed the entire scene in an unwanted light, completely revealing the treacherous act that had been committed.

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Daytime.

Another sudden strike landed on the side of his head, closely accompanied by the horrible sensation of warm blood trickling down his left temple. Remus Lupin straightened up, trying his best also to ignore the insults hurled at him – insults that were now gradually starting to invade his sense of calm and restraint.

The other boys threw him looks of utmost disgust as they surrounded him, their shadows as intimidating as their faces.

"---nothing but a piece of _scum_! You don't belong here!"

"Heard he tried to kill Harroway's brother!"

Once again, Remus's head met with the forceful blow of a fist that belonged to – well, did it matter? He couldn't even see properly anymore; his vision clouded in a pool of fog that stung as if he had exposed his eyes to a substance of toxic nature. A moment later, he felt the hard, dusty ground rise up to meet him as his resistance to the abuse gave way.

"Oi! He's out cold! That's how lowlifes like him should be…laying in the dirt!"

But Remus wasn't yet in the realm of the unconscious…although he knew he would be soon enough; nearly every ounce of strength in his frail body had left him. The haunting call of a raven was slightly heard as the group of boys laughed loudly amongst each other as if they had accomplished a heroic act. The pitiful, ten year old boy lay in a pathetic heap at their feet, bruised and bloodied yet not showing any signs of spilt tears. No, he didn't even utter as much as a single of cry of pain as blow after blow had struck him down only seconds before.

"We'll try everything we can, son, everything we can! We'll find a way to heal you…" the sudden echo of a familiar voice, that belonging to Remus's father, for some reason flooded his mind. It was the last thing he heard before the merciless world surrounding him became saturated with darkness beyond comprehension. 

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"You beast…get away from her!" A woman dressed in greying robes shrieked, shoving Remus out of the way as she shot forward to grab her daughter's arm in a frenzied panic. Blue eyes filled with hatred and disgust met with hurt and surprised amber-coloured eyes.

"I never touched her…I swear…" A barely audible voice managed to escape from the boy's cracked lips as he stared at the woman with a gaze that wasn't hateful – but saddened.

"Hah – you expect me to believe that, do you? I don't even know why you're still living around here – you and that despicable family of yours! You should all be sent away! No - KILLED!"

_Sent away. _

_  
Killed._

How many times he had heard these same words in his life he did not know. Why _did_ these words, so simple in their solitude, injure his well being so badly? Without looking again at the woman and her frightened daughter, Remus turned on his heel and fled the vicinity, blocking out the shouts that followed him as he ran.

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The bone-chilling icy gale that blew through the open windows in the kitchen scattered Mr Lupin's fresh copy of the Daily Prophet all over the table.

"I can't stress enough how many times I've told you not to leave that unattended, you know!" Remus's mother, thin and tired-looking, said exasperatedly as she hurried to pick up the pages that were now blowing into the next room.

"What, the window or the paper, love?" answered Mr Lupin, raising his eyebrows at his wife's sudden exclamation.

"Both, I suppose! But mostly the window," came the annoyed reply.

A loud "HAH!" was heard as Remus's father leaned against the kitchen bench, one hand still holding onto the handle of the cupboard as he held it open to get out the coffee jar. An expression that indicated a combination of impatience and amusement played across the handsome yet weathered features of his face.

"You know damn well that I'm not going to stand here guarding it all my bloody life!" he said, half-laughing as he shook his head and shut the window again with a flick of his wand.

"Don't use magic on it every time – just try blocking it with something instead! Honestly!"

"Like what?"  
A small argument fired up between the couple just at the moment Remus had walked into the room, still dressed in his old pyjamas. Rubbing the sleep out of his weary eyes, he walked quietly over to the table and sat down, pulling a plate towards him.

"I really think you ought to get that window checked out – I think there's some irremovable curse on it or something…don't bother casting those spells on it, the same thing's just going to happen…"

"Dear, if I had a sickle for every time you've nagged to me about this, I would be incredibly rich right now…!"

"Excuse me?! Are you saying you'd rather have this bursting open and letting that horrible wind mess up everything? You know how often I---"

It was then that his parents noticed his presence.

"Oh, good morning, Remus, darling. How are you feeling?"

No reply.

"Come on son, cheer up, in a few days you're going to be much happier, I guarantee it."

A "clink" on wood was the only sound that came from Remus's direction as he drank silently from his glass and placed it back down onto the table. He didn't feel like talking much anymore. It seemed that whenever he opened his mouth to speak, he only seemed to annoy others. Even if his parents showed no signs of annoyance towards him, he just couldn't help it...society's accusations had trained him to be this way. A transformation in Remus's personality was the least of his problems for now.


	2. Acceptance

The following few days came and went without revealing the slightest hint of anything remotely exciting. That is, if you excluded the daily round of quarrels fuelled by Mr and Mrs Lupin every morning.

Remus was currently sitting on his bed – which consisted of a moth-eaten mattress supported by an age-weakened wooden frame…that creaked with every movement. A thin patchwork quilt and small pillow served to keep Remus in comfort as he slept.

The Lupins weren't rich people, obviously. The little amount of money they had was used sparingly, so they made do with second-hand furniture and clothing. Their food supply was kept in fairly good quantity, however, so they never starved. Mrs Lupin saw to that.

Remus absent-mindedly fiddled with the loose button on his shirt collar as he flicked through the fragile pages of an old book. The afternoon breeze rustled the leaves of the sycamore that stood outside his window. Everything was so peaceful in the real world at the moment, as if time had stood still, but within the mind of the young boy was a storm, powered by guilt and confusion. And anxiety.

With a sigh, Remus closed his book and flopped backwards onto his pillow. Staring up at the ceiling he noticed that there were watermarks staining the area just above his wardrobe. It wasn't long before he fell into slumber out of sheer boredom.

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Five minutes later, rapid knocking on his bedroom door awoke him with a start.

Sitting upright and feeling slightly dizzy as if he had been hanging upside-down, Remus managed a "hmmmmm?" in response.

His father entered the room, looking excited and waving around a thick envelope as if he had won the lottery. He was dressed in a nightgown with dark circles under his eyes and his light brown hair sticking up in weird angles. Remus came to the realisation that he himself had slept for much longer than just five minutes.

"You fell asleep really early last night, Remus!" exclaimed his father, interpreting his son's shifting aside as an invitation to sit at the foot of the bed. "Look what the owl brought for you!" A large grin was smeared on his face.

Remus stifled a yawn and held out his hands to receive the envelope. Turning it over, he noticed a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms. A lion, serpent, badger and eagle on the four corners of a shield with a large "H" at the centre.

Still grinning, Mr Lupin thumped his son on the back playfully and laughed at the surprised look on his face.

"You see, son? What did I tell you, everything turned out great!"

"B-but…how do you know it's not just a rejection letter?" Remus stuttered, looking up at his father doubtfully.

"I didn't want to tell you earlier because I'd spoil it, but Dumbledore sent your mother and I a letter a while ago saying that he's taken your condition into serious consideration. And now he's granted you a place at the school!"

Remus's amber eyes widened even more and without realising it, his mouth was slightly agape in shock.

"Wonderful isn't it? Come downstairs and show your mother."

And with that, Mr Lupin lifted himself up off the bed, tousled his son's hair affectionately and made his way out of the room.

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_So I've been accepted…_

Remus still couldn't believe it. His mother's excitement matched up with his father's – they were both chatting non-stop about the whole thing, forgetting about their usual fusses over the stubborn window in the kitchen.

"You'll be a great wizard, Remus, just like your grandfather!" beamed Mrs Lupin.

"On your mother's side, of course," laughed Mr Lupin, nudging his wife, "my dad was a muggle". Turning around to tend to the fried eggs on the stove, he added, "my mum was a right good witch, though, so it's all good!"

Remus took his usual seat at the table as his mother came to stand behind him to read the opened letter over his shoulder.

"Look's like you'll be needing a new wand – none of the family has an old one they can pass down. I think we've got enough for that…oh, and those books…looks like you'll have to borrow your cousin's. Sorry, love."

"Why are you sorry? It's fine, really," Remus mumbled, as he turned to glance at his mother, "he's not using them anymore, he finished school ages ago."

"Argh!"

They both turned in time to see Mr Lupin sucking on his index finger as if he'd been stung.

"Blast it! Oh well, they aren't burnt, here we go." A plateful of fried eggs was sent over to the table with a wave of his wand.

As the small family sat together to eat breakfast, Remus said quietly:

"I'm not to tell…anyone…about my problem, am I?"

A brief clutter of cutlery could be heard as both parents placed down their utensils slowly.

"Remus, darling, I think it's best you don't tell anybody. You're well aware that nobody in this area approves of your…_condition_…" his mother began, shyly, "…a-and it's not your fault the whole thing happened, of course. But people just can't seem to harmonise with …_werewolves_."

The last word left her mouth with a lowered tonal inflection.

Remus looked away from his mother and poked his fork into the fried eggs on his plate with little enthusiasm. Suddenly the sound of a chair being pushed backwards indicated that Mr Lupin had left the table and was now standing next to the window, both hands on the sink as he leant forward. His eyes were closed and for a moment one might have thought he was going to be sick. Instead he exhaled loudly and lifted his head to stare outside into the morning sunlight. On closer inspection it could be seen that a certain fire was burning in those brown eyes of his – anger directed towards himself and himself only.

"Dear? Are you alright?" Mrs Lupin's voice broke through the silence as she noticed her husband's sudden change in behaviour.

A loud sigh escaped Mr Lupin's lips.

"If only…if only I hadn't aggravated Fenrir. None of this would have ever happened!" Remus became frightened as his father spun around to face them again, looking furious. "You'd be a normal boy, son. You wouldn't be suffering from all of this rejection and torment!"

"It's in the past now! Don't bring it up …please!" Mrs Lupin hissed; her brow furrowed.

"It's not in the past! Don't you get it? Unless a miracle happens, our son has to deal with this for the rest of his life!" A hand slammed down onto the bench top.

"Dad, you – it wasn't your fault…" Remus tried to console his father, who shook it off with a wave of his hand.

"Look, you don't understand! It's not --"

"Stop it! Sit back down and let's just eat, okay?" snapped Remus's mother, interrupting. Her eyes looked as if they were shining with the onset of tears. "No more!"

Mr Lupin obeyed, but deep inside he was still irritated at the issue. He ate silently, brooding over the past.

An hour later, he left for work, saying nothing. He got dressed into his work robes and swiftly collected his cloak from the stand in the hallway before departing. Clearly, he was very upset with himself.

The rest of the morning was just as quiet.


End file.
